| Star Citizen livestream happening right now, and Massively's liveblogging it Posted: 20 Dec 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Events (Massively's Coverage), Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play Guess what, Star Citizens? It's time for another Cloud Imperium livestream, that's what. It's not one of those 24-hour marathons, fortunately, but today's presentation should give us a better idea of where development stands on the space sim sandbox's dogfighting module. According to the teaser post on the official website, Chris Roberts and company will also be talking up the latest hangar module tweaks as well as the Squadron 42 stand-alone campaign. If you're stuck at work or otherwise unable to tune into CIG's Twitch broadcast, don't sweat it. Massively's is here to liveblog the full event. Be sure to refresh this post and its comments every so often to see what's happening.  Star Citizen livestream happening right now, and Massively's liveblogging it originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SWTOR on its second anniversary: Winning an uphill battle Posted: 20 Dec 2013 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), Events (In-Game), Expansions, Patches, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Anniversaries, MMORPG At the beginning of the year, Star Wars: The Old Republic was struggling to find its place in the MMO world. As you are likely aware, 2012 was a rough year for SWTOR, but because of the free-to-play launch in November, the tide began to turn, at least financially. Players began flooding back to the game because BioWare tore down the paywall, but that was really the beginning of battle. If SWTOR really wanted to see success, it was going to have to keep those players around. Thus began the uphill battle of making the game successful in 2013. The game began the year with a few flops, and although not everyone was completely satisfied with all the decisions this year, SWTOR certainly upped its game. The game we saw at the end of 2012 morphed into something different and more satisfying by the end of this year. It started with the reopening of the western shelf on Ilum, continued to the launch of the game's first expansion, and ended with a second expansion. Continue reading SWTOR on its second anniversary: Winning an uphill battle SWTOR on its second anniversary: Winning an uphill battle originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EverQuest Producer's letter talks race/class combos, scaled Heroic Adventures Posted: 20 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries Want your favorite race/class combination to make it into EverQuest for its 15th anniversary? Then you'd better jump on the site and vote! The December Producer's Letter noted that the semi-final round just started, with three Elvenkind and one Iksar battling to be the chosen one. But the news doesn't stop there: The letter goes on to say that Call of the Forsaken: Hate Rising -- the first large free content update for those who own that expansion -- is launching in January, bringing new raids, new rare loot, and new Heroic Adventures to Norrath. On top of that, Heroic Adventures are getting tweaked so that they will be scaled by level, giving players the opportunity to play this content even earlier. EverQuest Producer's letter talks race/class combos, scaled Heroic Adventures originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Counting cards in the Hearthstone arena Posted: 20 Dec 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Hands-On, Trading Card Games, Livestream, The Stream Team, Hearthstone Have you heard the news? Mages got hit with the nerf bat this week in Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. While they still have copious amounts of direct damage removal spells, their major freeze spells (Cone of Cold, Blizzard, Frost Nova) all got bumped up in mana, cost giving opponents some breathing room. Join Massively's Richie live at 10:00 a.m. EST as he constructs a brand-new arena deck and seeks the thrill of victory. Game: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Host: Richie "Bog Otter" Procopio Date: Friday, December 20th, 2013 Time: 10:00 a.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Counting cards in the Hearthstone arena The Stream Team: Counting cards in the Hearthstone arena originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Tamriel Infinium: Marketing, modeling, and modding the Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 20 Dec 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Elder Scrolls Online, MMORPG, Tamriel Infinium I knew Massively readers would have a lot to say regarding the release date for the Elder Scrolls Online and how it measures up against other upcoming MMOs, but I had no idea about the breadth of topics that would come up. We heard the old standard, that nothing will ever beat the two-ton gorilla, World of Warcraft. Other readers argued that other games releasing about the same time are so much better. But what I'm most interested in is in the deeper discussions about why one franchise would choose one date while another would choose to wait. And because I included the launch-day-announcement video, readers had an opportunity to give their input on the aesthetics of the game as well as the overall expected performance. These topics also sparked discussion on modding for ESO. I love all these topics and frankly couldn't settle on one to talk about this week. So I'm just going to hit on them all: marketing, modeling, and modding. Continue reading Tamriel Infinium: Marketing, modeling, and modding the Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Infinium: Marketing, modeling, and modding the Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: What's your MMO of the year? Posted: 20 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Final Fantasy XIV, Miscellaneous Yesterday, we published Massively's 2013 awards, including our pick for MMO of the year, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, which carried off that top award in something of a landslide, even if it was tempered by the recent housing patch debacle. Wizardry Online, Defiance, Darkfall Unholy Wars, Age of Wushu, Neverwinter, DUST 514, Marvel Heroes, MechWarrior Online, and a slew of other smaller games were all in the running for MMO of the year, being the short list of MMOs that formally launched in 2013. Did we nail it, or would you have voted for another title? What's your MMO of the year?  Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!The Daily Grind: What's your MMO of the year? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| ANet talks GW2's Job-o-Tron, uses the word 'accoutrements' in a sentence Posted: 19 Dec 2013 05:30 PM PST |
| The Stream Team: Happy Holidays from RIFT's Fae Yule Posted: 19 Dec 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Events (Massively's Coverage), RIFT, Livestream, The Stream Team  >It's that time of year again! Digital presents and pixel snow are cropping up in our favorite MMOs and RIFT's yearly holiday event, Fae Yule, is in full swing with everything Fae-y and Yule-y. Join Massively's Jasmine as she quests her way through the holiday cheer live at 8:00 p.m. EST! Game: RIFT Host: Jasmine Hruschak Date: Thursday, December 19th, 2013 Time: 8:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Happy Holidays from RIFT's Fae Yule The Stream Team: Happy Holidays from RIFT's Fae Yule originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EverQuest Next Landmark alpha coming 'last half of January' Posted: 19 Dec 2013 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content Remember back when SOE said that EverQuest Next Landmark's alpha would happen on or before February 28th, 2014? According to CEO John Smedley, players will likely be seeing the game a month (or more) sooner than that. Smedley tweeted, "It's looking like our alpha for EQNL is going to start sometime in the last half of January." That's some pretty good news for folks who are excited to get in and test the building tools in the sandbox for themselves. EverQuest Next Landmark alpha coming 'last half of January' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Win some Gil and more in Final Fantasy XI's latest Mog Bonanza Posted: 19 Dec 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Events (In-Game), News Items, Anniversaries Are you the gambling type? Does the chance of winning oodles of cash or special items in a lottery thrill and excite you? Then hold on to your helms -- Final Fantasy XI's Mog Bonanza has returned! Until January 23, 2014, at 3:00 a.m. EST, players can purchase Mog Bonanza marbles (up to 10 per character) and inscribe five numbers on each in hopes of winning various prizes, from Gil to a Kraken Club to a Chocobo suit. The cost of each marble is 1,111 Gil, and winning numbers will be announced February 13th at 3:00 a.m EST. For a complete run-down of the rules and a full list of possible prizes, visit the official site. Win some Gil and more in Final Fantasy XI's latest Mog Bonanza originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Elite: Dangerous newsletter talks 'accessibility plus depth' Posted: 19 Dec 2013 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Elite: Dangerous, Buy-to-Play Frontier has released its 15th Elite: Dangerous e-newsletter. The publication focuses heavily on the sandbox space sim's recent alpha kickoff, and it features plenty of developer commentary on everything from art and audio to code and design. There's also a handy run-down of game development jobs and terminology, so if you've ever wondered what a renderer does or what Frontier's core design mandate happens to be ("accessibility plus depth"), look no further than issue 15. [Thanks Peteris!] Elite: Dangerous newsletter talks 'accessibility plus depth' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hands-on with Albion Online's alpha Posted: 19 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Culture, Game Mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Hands-On, First Impressions, Miscellaneous Ever miss the old MMO days when crafting had meaning? When your friend could join up with you and on day one you could both go somewhere pretty cool, and just having that extra person could make things a smidge easier? Wish you could go back to those days without dealing with mindless grinds? Sandbox Interactive's Albion Online is perhaps something you should look into. In fact, those are the very reasons I signed up for the alpha back when I first heard about it. And now that I've played around with it a bit, I've been pleasantly surprised with my experience, though there are a few things newcomers will want to watch out for. For starters, Albion's alpha is an actual alpha, not a retitled beta for marketing purposes. If you're going to play any future alpha phases, know that they'll be rough, unfinished, and non-functional in some areas. There's no actual character creation at the moment. Heck, there isn't even a female option (sorry ladies!). You can change your portrait, but that doesn't change the way your character looks. Because it's an alpha, I'm going to only lightly cover what I couldn't play and focus more heavily on those I could. Continue reading Hands-on with Albion Online's alpha Hands-on with Albion Online's alpha originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| World of Warplanes' first update brings planes and also planes Posted: 19 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Historical, Launches, Patches, PvP, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, World of Warplanes Pilots of World of Warplanes likely noticed that Update 1.1, the game's first content patch, is now live. Update 1.1 brings two battle maps, 14 planes, and new training missions. The new aircraft in update 1.1 include nine German Focke-Wulf warplanes and five tier V premium planes: the UK's Miles M. 20, Russia's Curtiss P-40 M-105, the US's Grumman XF4U-1, and the German Messerschmitt Me 209V. Wargaming.net also noted that it has made improvements to mouse and joystick controls along with a few balance tweaks and other performance adjustments. Players who log in to World of Warplanes between December 23rd, 2013, and January 16, 2013, will receive the exclusive Curtizz Model 68C Hawk III premium aircraft. [Source: Wargaming.net press release] World of Warplanes' first update brings planes and also planes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Perfect World putting new resources toward console development Posted: 19 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, PvE, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Consoles, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic, Neverwinter, MMORPG Perfect World Entertainment, the mega-publisher behind games like Neverwinter, Torchlight II, RaiderZ, and Star Trek Online, has just announced that it is launching a new in-house division dedicated to console development. According to general manager of publishing Andrew Brown, investing in console development offers Perfect World a way to "better connect with players." The console division will be dedicated to bringing new and existing PWE titles to consoles. Brown seemed optimistic about expanding into the console world, explaining, "You can expect Perfect World to be a major player in the console marketplace." No specific games were named for release. [Thanks to Paul for the tip!] Perfect World putting new resources toward console development originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Trove will rejuvenate MMO worlds by blowing them up Posted: 19 Dec 2013 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Interviews, Previews, Free-to-Play, Sandbox I'll confess that even after having chatted with Trion Worlds CEO Scott Hartsman about this new Trove project and reading Shawn's very early impressions piece, I was still having difficulty understanding what, exactly, this game was about. Was it just some sort of kiddy LEGO hack-and-slasher with a nod to housing thrown in? How was Trion going to make good on its promise to continually provide a sense of new adventures? And was Trove just a blatant ripoff of Cube World, as some have claimed? Because Trove isn't quite a typical MMO, I needed another phone session with Trion to get a clearer picture of this game. Creative Lead Andrew Krausnick spent an hour with me patiently answering any and all of my questions. The big one had to be asked from the get go. Were you really going to be blowing up the world all the time? Krausnick confirmed that yes, Trion will be doing exactly that. More than that, he said that it would be the factor that would set Trove apart from all of the other games out there right now. Continue reading Trove will rejuvenate MMO worlds by blowing them up Trove will rejuvenate MMO worlds by blowing them up originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Pick up MMOs on the cheap in Steam's holiday sale Posted: 19 Dec 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Darkfall, EVE Online, Final Fantasy XI, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, PvE, The Secret World, Miscellaneous, Sandbox, Defiance, MMORPG, Buy-to-Play It's that time of year again, folks -- the time when grandfather Valve slides down the chimney and offers you a huge pile of reasonably priced games. Yes, Steam's holiday sale is now in full effect, bringing with it some nice deals on a few MMO titles. Here's what we've found so far: Keep in mind that sales change daily and that some games above do require subscription fees. The Steam holiday sales ends January 2nd, 2014. Pick up MMOs on the cheap in Steam's holiday sale originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hearthstone open beta pushed into 2014 Posted: 19 Dec 2013 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, New Titles, PvP, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous, Hearthstone Despite Blizzard's hope of launching Hearthstone into open beta sometime this month, it appears as though bug-catching, card-tweaking, and fine-tuning have gotten the better of the team. The studio today announced that Hearthstone's open beta has been delayed to ensure the game is "ready for wider testing." According to Blizzard, Hearthstone's open beta is still "very close." Blizzard tempered the bad news with an announcement that it is expanding the closed beta substantially; everyone who opted in before December 16th, 2013, should have received an invite. If you haven't yet opted in, you have until January 7th, 2014, to sign up. No further card data wipes are planned as Hearthstone edges its way to launch. Hearthstone open beta pushed into 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: 'Tis the season (for Krampus) in The Secret World Posted: 19 Dec 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Video, Events (In-Game), Massively Meta, The Secret World, The Stream Team, Buy-to-Play This holiday season isn't all about cute little elves and brightly lit packages, especially not if you are a part of The Secret World. Instead of a giant jolly old elf dressed in red velvet, Massively's MJ is on the lookout for a cloven-hoofed beast with horns. Rumor has it he can even open a portal to a realm of frost and ice. A new place to explore... where do we sign up? Join us live at 3:00 p.m. for some holiday shenanigans, and maybe a lair, too. Game: The Secret World Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Thursday, December 19th, 2013 Time: 3:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: 'Tis the season (for Krampus) in The Secret World The Stream Team: 'Tis the season (for Krampus) in The Secret World originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MechWarrior Online's Bullock on golden mechs and future content Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, Business Models, Interviews, PvP, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic, MechWarrior Online Pirahna Game's president Russ Bullock is listening to the playerbase of MechWarrior Online. He is very aware of the number of complaints that have come in after a recent announcement of the pre-order sell of Clan 'Mechs, with prices ranging from under $30.00 to $500.00 for a gold-plated version. Although the complaints come from a range of topics, many concentrate on the timing of the announcement. After all, the developers only recently announced the Project Phoenix pre-order program. Some players see this new DLC pre-order only as a chance to make more money in lieu of producing more content. Other complaints stem from the prices of the pre-orders, and it's easy to see why. When we sat down with him recently, Bullock explained the costs in a few ways. First, the highest-priced items are simply collector's items. They look cool and do not have extras that go along with them that give them an advantage during combat. Second, all of the 'Mechs on the list can be paid for with in-game funds once released, minus some of the non-combat bonuses attached, meaning that any player who wants to can continue to pay nothing at all. Bullock wanted to emphasize that despite all of this, he knows that what the playerbase is really asking for is community-based features. Continue reading MechWarrior Online's Bullock on golden mechs and future content MechWarrior Online's Bullock on golden mechs and future content originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Field Journal: The true meaning of MMO holiday events Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), Opinion, Star Trek Online, Guild Wars 2, Hands-On, Humor, RIFT, MMORPG, Field Journal Field Journal is a bold and exciting new take on MMO journalism. Or the meandering ramblings of a chronic game-hopper. I haven't decided yet. Each week I'll be setting for myself a new "adventure" or "field trip" into a game to explore some aspect of it in detail. I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences, especially on games without a dedicated column. Anything from the most obscure indie to the elephant in the room is up for consideration. There just has to be something in it we think is worth gawking at and talking about! Given the timing, I wanted to kick things off with a look at seasonal events in MMOs. To make it special, I thought, why not tackle the events of a few games in one go? Oh how naive I was. Let me tell you, there's nothing like seeing the same flavor of holiday cheer over and over again in supposedly different worlds to strip away one's capacity for goodwill to all developers. Fortunately, there were a few bright spots. Continue reading Field Journal: The true meaning of MMO holiday events Field Journal: The true meaning of MMO holiday events originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Defiance now offers unlimited free trial Posted: 19 Dec 2013 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMOFPS, Dev Diaries, Defiance, Buy-to-Play Defiance's free trial just got better as Trion Worlds has removed the time limit so that players can explore the game at their own pace. The trial still has a hard cap limit for 500 EGO, however. Trion also posted a dev blog talking about how the team is using stims, spikes, and revamped grenades to make the action in the recent Arkbreaker DLC even better. "Ark hunters constantly ride the dagger's edge between life and death: the addition of resource scarcity makes this danger all the more real when placed into the combat equation," Creative Lead Trick Dempsey explained. "Spikes, stims, and grenades add a huge amount of power to the ark hunter arsenal, but power always comes with the seductive possibility of becoming dependent and thus, vulnerable." Defiance now offers unlimited free trial originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Diablo III: Reaper of Souls coming March 25th, 2014 Posted: 19 Dec 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Launches, Diablo III, Buy-to-Play Get out your checkbooks (are those still used?) if you're a Diablo III fan because Blizzard has put a street date on Reaper of Souls: March 25th, 2014. This release date is for the PC and Mac only, with the PlayStation 4 release date to be announced later. Even though you won't be able to play the expansion for three months, you can pay for it today. That's so considerate of the studio, isn't it? Those who pre-purchase Reaper of Souls have the choice of three editions. The standard edition is $39.99 and the digital deluxe version (with extra goodies like a spectral hound minion) is $59.99. Alternatively, you can try to snag one of the collector's editions (with extra extra goodies) for $79.99 at select retail stores. The expansion includes a new act, the Crusader character, the Loot 2.0 system, more class skills, new modes, and more. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls coming March 25th, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Casting for Warcraft movie continues Posted: 19 Dec 2013 09:30 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items Two weeks ago, we heard about the first actors selected to be in the upcoming movie based on the Warcraft universe. Now we learn about two more who will be joining the cast of the movie set to release March 11th, 2014. Universal Pictures has announced that Clancy Brown and Daniel Wu will be in the production. Besides acting in movies like Homefront, Highlander, and Shawshank Redemption and television series like Sleepy Hollow, Brown has done a great deal of voice-over work, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Wu is best known for his roles in Chinese-language films as an actor as well as a director and a producer. Casting for Warcraft movie continues originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Dec 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Handy utility displays your GPU's DNA and vitals
Don't turn out the lights, the party might not be over
Another card for the Litecoin miners to snatch up
A small but affordable touchscreen display
More sour grapes for BlackBerry
